St. Joe County officer involved in cane attack retires

Claims injuries received in 2005 incident marked beginning of the end of his career.

Claims injuries received in 2005 incident marked beginning of the end of his career.

January 02, 2009|By ERIN BLASKO Tribune Staff Writer

Nearly four years later, one of two county police officers involved in an infamous assault case has retired because of injuries he says he suffered in the incident. After 31 years, Sgt. John Pavlekovich officially retired from the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department on Nov. 1, about a year after he says an on-duty accident laid him up permanently. In February 2005, Pavlekovich and his partner, Lonny Foresman, were thrust into the media spotlight when, during a welfare check at a home on St. Joseph Street, a then-79-year-old woman struck Foresman in the head multiple times with her wooden cane, causing him to briefly lose consciousness. Betty Chambers argued she was defending her live-in caregiver, Tom Holleman, whom the officers were trying to arrest. The story was picked up by media outlets as far away as Pakistan, and Chambers, who during interviews and at her trial came off as amusingly ornery, became a minor local celebrity. Chambers was eventually convicted of felony battery, and Holleman of resisting arrest. Pavlekovich, 54, said the incident marked the beginning of the end of his 34-year career in law enforcement. "It's sad," Pavlekovich said. "Everybody thinks it's a big joke -- an old lady and a cane." Pavlekovich said he injured his lower back and right shoulder that day when he caught Foresman as he fell. He endured two back surgeries and one shoulder surgery, he said, and returned to the force for about two years. But in December 2007, he said, an on-duty car crash aggravated his injured back, prompting a third surgery and ending his career. Now, Pavlekovich walks with a cane and suffers from dorsiflexion of the left ankle, a condition that inhibits his ability to flex his foot upward and requires him to wear a brace, he said. Both cause him considerable pain, he said, especially when walking or sitting upright -- and prevented him from rejoining the force. "Every day (the pain) waits for me in the corner of the bedroom, waiting for me to get up," Pavlekovich said. "It makes life miserable." County police spokesman Sgt. Bill Redman would not comment on Pavlekovich's injuries or how he suffered them. He described Pavlekovich's retirement from the department as a "regular" retirement, not because of injury. 'I miss it a lot' Pavlekovich's law enforcement career began in his hometown of Milwaukee in the mid-1970s. Before joining the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department in 1977, he served for a brief period with the Osceola Police Department. In the late 1980s, he was part of the investigative team that worked the Jeffrey Pelley case, he said, and he testified for the prosecution at Pelley's trial. Pelley was sent to prison for killing his father, stepmother and two stepsisters, but his conviction was eventually overturned on appeal. He remains in jail as the Indiana Supreme Court reviews the case. Like the caning case, the Pelley case was highly publicized. Pavlekovich described it as his "biggest." But the minor cases were rewarding as well, he said. He recalled an episode in the late 1990s when a man he had arrested for impersonating a police officer later thanked him and bought him a beer. "I miss it, I miss it a lot," Pavlekovich said of the work. "It's like I'm stuck in a corner." Tammy Pavlekovich, John's wife, said the end of her husband's career has had an emotional effect on the entire family. "The day he retired, Oct. 31 at midnight, there were a lot of tears in the house," Tammy Pavlekovich said. "That's when it hit him that he was no longer a policeman, and it was sad." Minus his policeman's salary, the past year has been difficult financially, John Pavlekovich said. His wife is a stay-at-home mother, and his two daughters, ages 8 and 10, attend Holy Family School, a private school. Pavlekovich said the family's income is from his disability benefits and policeman's pension. "We got behind in a lot of bills," he said. "It's a hole we're trying to get out of." A civil lawsuit Pavlekovich and Foresman filed against Chambers and Holleman in 2006 is pending. The complaint seeks unspecified damages for pain and suffering. In the meantime, Pavlekovich said he is living life day to day. "Right now my main concern is to take care of my family, pay my bills, and try to get over this pain, try to cope with it," he said. "But it feels like there's a big hole, and I'm going down it." Staff writer Erin Blasko: eblasko@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6187